ERBIL () - Iraq has recovered $13 million in assets that had previously been frozen in French banks under a court order, the country’s Fund for Recovering Assets said Thursday.
The recovered funds have been transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Finance’s accounts after the completion of legal procedures and coordination with the Arab Swiss Bank, according to Mohammed Ali Al-Lami, chairman of the fund’s board of directors.
Al-Lami said on Thursday, that the recovery was the result of follow-up efforts and procedures carried out by the fund in coordination with relevant international and domestic authorities.
“The recovery of this amount is a new achievement in the efforts made by the fund to pursue and recover Iraq’s wealth and assets held outside the country,” Al-Lami said.
He stressed that work and coordination with relevant authorities would continue to recover other state assets and return them to the public treasury.
The successful recovery of the $13 million, according to the fund, reflects the impact of follow-up efforts and meetings held by its chairman and the head of the Federal Integrity Commission on the sidelines of an Iraqi government delegation’s visit to France, led by Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi.
The efforts are part of measures aimed at protecting state funds and recovering Iraq’s financial rights held outside the country.
